1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for communicating and, more particularly, to a method of using musical notes for communicating wherein each letter in the alphabet is assigned a musical note. One of the particular applications of the present invention is with a telephone.
2. Art Related to the Invention
Most animals communicate through sound, some being more complex than others. Man has often tried to string words together to create a pleasant sound while communicating a message. Poetry and song are probably two of the most common forms of communication which not only conveys a message, but are also enjoyable to the ear. One area that is woefully deficient in this area is the telecommunication field.
The classic method for indication of an incoming telephone call has been the electromechanical bell. More recently, electronically driven sounding devices have begun to replace the electromechanical bell. Both methods, however, fail to convey the identity of the caller or to provide a message which is pleasant to the ear.
Attempts have been made to provide a message which is more pleasant to the ear. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,572 to Whitney discloses a telephone annunciator with low battery indication. The purpose of the device is to provide a gentler method for drawing attention to an incoming call. The device replaces the conventional ringer with a musical passage, chimes, a short voice message, a flashing light or the sound of a waterfall. The device supplies an output signal which activates an external signaling device such as a tape player, chime, music box or voice chip. The device does not distinguish between incoming calls and does not allow the user to program or record the type of sound generated.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,153 to Festa discloses a musical-output adapter for telephones. The device replaces the ringing of the bell by providing a musical tune or melody when the telephone is activated by a caller. The user selects one of several programmed tunes or melodies to play until the phone is either answered or the caller hangs up. The device does not distinguish between incoming calls and does allow the user to record sample sounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,145 to Lim discloses an alphanumeric caller identification telephone which can not only display the received number, but can also spell, speak or display the name of the caller for predetermined incoming calls. In addition, the device can be set to ring, alert or even activate a plurality of control outputs when certain incoming calls including a number or name are received. The device is limited to the names and numbers stored in memory, and does not allow the user to record sample sounds.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,861 to Fujioka discloses a terminal in communication network for notifying the originating party""s number. Like the Lim patent, this device compares the incoming call with a pre-registered list of callers and notifies the user of the incoming call via an audible indication of the ID information corresponding to the registered subscriber""s number.
None of the devices are capable of distinguishing between incoming calls that are not pre-registered with a musical note that corresponds to a letter in the alphabet. In addition, none of the devices allow the user to assign musical notes for each letter of the alphabet, so that the user can communicate with musical notes and distinguish one incoming call from another through a musical note.
The present invention is a new method for communicating, namely, it assigns each letter in the alphabet a musical note such that each unique combination of letters will have a separate note associated therewith.
The present invention is primarily intended for Roman alphabet, A to Z, however, it can be applied to any language which employs an alphabet, finite set of letters, to form words. For example, the present invention can be employed in the Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Russian or Sanskrit alphabets.
Preferably, each positive integer from 0 to 9 is also assigned a unique musical note, one that is different than the musical notes assigned to the letters in the alphabet. The present invention is intended for Arabic, positive, single integers, 0 to 9, however, the present invention can also be adapted for Roman numbers, i.e. I, V, X, L, C, D and M.
Preferably, other symbols such as periods (.), full colons (:), semicolons (;), comas (,), question marks (?), plus (+), and minus (xe2x88x92) could also be assigned unique musical notes, notes different than those assigned to the letters and numbers.
Musical notes played by different instruments have the same frequency but have a different sound. Thus, a specific instrument can be employed to distinguish one letter or number from another, thereby creating unique musical sounds.
The notes can also be divided into halfs, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, etc., to distinguish one from another. Depending on the number of musical notes employed, the musical notes will be. separated one from another.
Broadly, the method of the present invention comprises:
(a) assigning one musical note to each letter in an alphabet;
(b) converting each letter in a word of a message to its assigned musical tone; and
(c) communicating said message to a human being using said musical notes.
The piano has 88 keys which are audible and distinguishable to the average human ear, thus, by using the keyboard on the piano, the notes provided by 26 keys can be assigned to the Roman alphabet to accomplish the first step of the present invention.
Alternatively, every other key of the middle 52 keys on the piano can be used and assigned to the Roman alphabet to accomplish the first step of the present invention.
The present invention also provides a device for a Programmable Telephone Ringer that is capable of distinguishing between all incoming calls and notifying the user accordingly by employing the method of the present invention.
The present invention allows the user to program and record unique musical notes for each letter of the alphabet.
The present invention also provides a device which is both portable and inexpensive to manufacture.